I really appreciate being constantly reminded of my mistakes! 8 ways to deal with people issues.
I have made a lot of mistakes.
Some of them were pretty spectacular. While formal training, my master’s degree, and supplementary reading have taught me the theory of leadership, my mistakes have taught me more than I care to admit.
My first leadership lesson happened when I was barely six or seven years old. I was a voracious reader, devouring comics, magazines, superhero books, and war stories. The best of all were the Hardy Boys books. I wanted to read every single Hardy Boys story. One day, I went into the drugstore in our small farming village and spotted a Hardy Boys book I didn’t own. I didn’t have the money for it, so I slipped it under my shirt and walked out. On the surface, it was a small act—but however you slice it, it was stealing.
When I got home, of course, I got caught. A shiny new hardcover book couldn’t just appear in our house without everyone knowing about it. I was taken back to the drugstore to confess to the store owner. My dad waited outside while I went in. I made my way to the rack of books, returned the stolen book to its rightful place, and left. Dad asked if I had spoken to the owner. Keeping my backside in mind, I told him the truth.
I was turned around on the spot and, once again, escorted back into the store to “face the music.” I admitted my wrongdoing and apologized. To my surprise, the store owner only scolded me gently. More importantly, he thanked me for owning up, returning the book, apologizing, and acting “like an adult.”
The trip back home felt like my own green mile. I was sure I was heading to the gallows, but it was over—my dad left it at that. Looking back now, I cannot recall ever hearing about the incident again.
The lesson I learned from that ordeal was this: when something is over and dealt with, it’s done.
Managing Issues Effectively
As a leader, your most frequent challenge will be managing the issues that inevitably arise when dealing with people. Try to remember—and consistently encourage others—to cooperate. Ultimately, your value as a leader will be judged by the performance of the people who make up your Team. And their performance will reflect your total personality, attitude toward life, and particularly your approach to people. Your success or failure will be a direct result of how well you align your organization’s goals with the career goals of your people and deal with any friction caused by misalignment.
The following suggestions will help you achieve results:
- Focus your attention chiefly on results rather than the activities you think will get you there. Everything should be about results.
- Plan and organize effectively.
- Communicate objectives properly, with time targets, established measurement systems, and designated accountability.
- Establish performance expectations so all concerned will be focused and will know how their performance will be measured.
- Communicate a “results-oriented” attitude to encourage people to develop self-reliance and confidently achieve their goals.
- Motivate people to their peak achievement.
- Be creative and help others develop their creative potential.
- Track all progress so that what is planned is achieved.
Get eight suggestions to improve how you motivate
How Do You Measure Up When It Comes to Issues Management?
Read each statement or question below.
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “never” and 5 meaning “always,” mark an “X” where you think you are today.
Then, mark an “O” where you would like to be.
Consider the above article and commit to one thing you can do to improve your score.
| 1. You look for the critical factor(s) that must be changed before anything else can be changed or acted upon to unearth the real problem.
1 2 3 4 5 |
| 2. You make sure that your problem-solving objectives reflect the organization’s objectives.
1 2 3 4 5 |
| 3. You consult all who should be consulted before making a decision.
1 2 3 4 5 |
| 4. You evaluate your decisions by predetermining their possible impact on people and things.
1 2 3 4 5 |
| 5. You predetermine how long the organization is committed to your decisions.
1 2 3 4 5 |
| 6. You ensure your decisions do not violate established rules, policies, procedures, good ethics, or morality.
1 2 3 4 5 |
| 7. After defining and analyzing problems, you develop as many alternative solutions as possible to widen the range of choices before coming to a final decision.
1 2 3 4 5 |
| 8. You are skilful at timing. You determine whether or not the situation is something urgent requiring quick action or whether long, consistent effort is needed.
1 2 3 4 5 |